


Little Wonders

by lego_hearts



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Mpreg, egg fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-10
Updated: 2012-12-09
Packaged: 2017-11-20 18:20:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/588310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lego_hearts/pseuds/lego_hearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean isn't ready to be a dad. He never thought he was going to be; there's always a world to take care of. Always something in the way of his dreams of a normal life. But Cas is offering him that one thing he has always wanted, and offering it in the most unconventional way possible. Somehow that makes it more reassuring.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for tremble_beloved's (lLJ) Everlasting Birthday Challenge prompt.   
> Also dedicated with so much love to bad_buttercup (LJ) who beta'd the story and pushed me through every time I was on the point of falling to little pieces, who gave me so much encouragement to carry on and who also worked so hard to help get this to what it is right now, which isn't even partly completed. I honestly, honestly couldn't have done this without you. Thank you so much for everything you've done and the many, many hours you put in to looking it over and helping with plot points and your suggestions and every single thing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

There's one thing humankind can be relied upon to do and that is realise things that are right and good when it is on the brink of being lost to them forever.  
  
Dean Winchester is having this moment right now as he gazes at the angel he has called his friend for over a year now. Gazing and slowly edging forward, thoughts and realisations slip together in his mind like puzzle pieces, and he needs to be closer. Closer to the angel. To Castiel.  
  
Castiel stands with serene patience whilst Dean crosses the room towards him, as though he's been waiting, just waiting for Dean to work this out. And perhaps he has. He's a little devious like that.  
  
Dean is preparing the words, but he can't remember the last time he said them, and that alone is enough to frighten them away again.  
  
“Cas,” he whispers, his eyes looking everywhere but at the man in question. “I- um...”  
  
Castiel tips his head to the side and smiles in a way that says he understands everything and more. “I love you, Dean,” he says quietly, putting the words out like an offering for a frightened animal. His look has melted into something akin to bashful, replacing his usually unreadable expression.  
  
“No, but Cas,” Dean begins again, startled slightly. “I'm in love with you.” He doesn't think the angel could possibly understand the difference.  
  
“I understand, Dean,” Cas confirms, taking a step forward, one that closes the gap between them.  
  
Dean thinks, as he reaches for Cas' face to pull him in for their first kiss, that he's probably been feeling this way for a long time. But it's a cruel twist of fate, he continues, that they find each other like this, at the end of the world.  
  
They break away for just a second, long enough to look into each other's eyes and know that this is right. This is what they want. Their lips meet again, this time with all of the passion and desperation they were holding back before.  
  
At least, Dean muses as he enjoys Cas' ethereal taste for the first time, sinking into the dizzying essence of his angel, at least they did find each other.  
  
He tugs Cas over to the sofa in Bobby's lounge, and they undress slowly. Castiel maps out every inch of Dean with his fingertips, and whilst Dean thinks it is a pointless exercise, he doesn't stop him or speed him along because the time for frivolous, rushed sex is gone, and he enjoys the caress of soft fingers against his war-worn skin.  
  
He gently rids Castiel of his clothing, and this is new for both of them. Cas has never explored his own skin or its pleasures, and Dean touches every place, coaxing the sweetest sounds from Cas' lips.  
  
“Don't come yet,” Dean whispers, teasing, easing down first Castiel's underwear and then his own.  
  
Neither of them is particularly experienced with this, and Dean is uncharacteristically nervous as he spreads Cas' legs and settles between them. He panics for a moment because they have nothing – no lube or condoms – but Castiel smiles sweetly and reminds Dean that he's an angel.  
  
It's when Cas takes hold of his cock and guides him to his entrance that Dean understands. The benefits of loving an angel.  
  
He pushes in, and Cas is just the right amount of tight and moans so sexily that Dean is the one who has to remember not to come too quickly.  
  
Cas' arms wrap around his shoulders, and they kiss slowly, long and drawn out as their hips roll together. Cas has never felt this kind of pleasure or fullness, and his body stutters beneath Dean with every rock and every teasing brush against his prostate. He whispers Dean's name like a mantra, each one a little more strained and desperate, his nails taking over Dean's skin until his palm comes to rest against the outline of the scar on Dean's arm.  
  
Sparks burst behind Dean's eyes, and he thrusts forward, breaking their gentle rhythm. The way Cas spreads his legs is nothing short of filthy, and Dean groans between their lips, his hands sliding down to take hold of Cas' hips, keeping them still whilst he thrusts in.  
  
Castiel moans, and Dean could never have imagined the angel would be so passionate. He knows he is hitting the right spot inside Cas when the man beneath him cries out, and his skin flushes all the way down to his hard cock pressed between their bellies.  
  
“Right there, Dean,” Cas whispers, and Dean can only comply because his angel is blowing his mind.  
  
Cas comes no more than an a minute later, trembling beneath Dean as he releases between their bodies. His muscles clench and quiver, and he pulls Dean after him, both of them groaning as Dean fills him.  
  
They're quiet for a long time afterwards, laying together and kissing, touching, trying to memorise every line and dip of each other's bodies. The world is ending, maybe in the morning, and selfish though it is, Dean wants this more than he wants to save the world.   
  
\--------   
  
When morning comes, the world hasn't ended, and Dean finds himself waking in his bed at Bobby's. His bed - an almost permanent place to collapse into whilst they battle against the forces of evil and the Apocalypse. It made sense to have a base, and even more to make the base here. Dean doesn't remember a time when he had a place to keep his things, a place where he could throw his clothes in a washer for free and wander down to the fridge whenever he fancied. He feels undeserving of something so normal. But regardless, he wakes up in his bed clean if not a little naked. He doesn't expect to find Castiel beside him, though it is a pleasant surprise and not at all unwelcome. But Castiel is sleeping. He's sleeping, and Dean leans over in a panic to check that he's still breathing, because Cas doesn't sleep. There he is, though, breathing slow, deep breaths, his eyes closed, his expression so beautifully serene. Dean can't help but stare.  
  
The movement of Dean's body wakes Castiel, and in the very first moment his eyes open, he seems just as shocked as Dean. They exchange a glance, silently questioning each other but coming up short with the answers.  
  
“Something isn't right,” Cas announces, climbing from Dean's bed and sorting through the clothes on the floor until he has his suit pants and shirt in his hands, pulling them both on in haste. Dean is watching, and despite Cas' tone and warning, he's enjoying the sight of his ass and the fact that Cas is going commando. Wherever he's going.  
  
But that aside, Dean knows he's about to feel like a jilted lover or a mistake, because they made love, and now Cas is leaving. He frowns, both at Cas for the pending abandonment and at himself for being such a girl about it all. It occurs to him then, though, that something really could be wrong. Something possibly end-of-the-worldy. Geez, their mind blowing sex must really have done a number on him.  
  
“Cas? Do we- is it Lucifer?”  
  
His angel turns to him, and there is such a gentle expression on his face that Dean feels remarkably calm. At peace.  
  
“It's not Lucifer. Not today,” Cas smiles, leaning on the edge of the mattress and kissing Dean's lips. “I'll be back soon.”  
  
\--------  
  
After Castiel has departed, Dean heads downstairs and finds Sam in the kitchen on his laptop. His brother looks up as Dean enters the room, an unnerving smugness on his face.  
  
“Bobby found your boxers next to the sofa,” Sam says. “He wanted me to tell you that he let us have beds for a reason, and if you have sex on his sofa again, he's going to take the engine out of the Impala and sell it on Craig's List.”  
  
“Craig's List?” Dean frowns.  
  
“Exactly. Not even eBay, Dean.”  
  
Dean doesn't follow the conversation but makes a mental note to apologise to Bobby later for fear of what might happen to his baby if he doesn't. He takes a seat opposite Sam, reaching over for the coffee.  
  
“He had to leave this morning- Cas. He said something was wrong. He woke up-”  
  
“He woke up?” Sam interrupts, and Dean doesn't need to say any more. The severity is very much understood. “Dean, what did you do to him?”  
  
Dean rolls his eyes. “This is serious, Sammy. He didn't even dress properly, just pulled on his pants and shirt and-”  
  
“He didn't use his mojo?” Sam asks. Dean hasn't even thought of that.  
  
“No. No, but he zapped away, so-”  
  
“But Dean- what if you did something to his grace?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“I don't mean intentionally,” Sam says quickly, “but he's an angel. You're a human. Who knows what happens when you- y'know?”  
  
Dean frowns. He doesn't want to think that their sex somehow broke Castiel's grace. But then there must be some reason for him having been a virgin for so many millennia.  
  
“Dean?” Dean and Sam both jump at the sound of Castiel's voice beside them.  
  
“Cas!” Dean stands abruptly from the table, looking the angel up and down. “Is everything- what's wrong? Did I break your grace?”  
  
Castiel looks perplexed, and for once that expression is reassuring.  
  
“Not exactly,” Cas replies, sending the reassurance crashing down again. Dean feels sick. “But I do need to speak with you.”  
  
Dean's mouth opens and closes pathetically as he envisions all of the things Cas might say. That they can't do this. That he broke another angel law. That he's leaving.  
  
“I'll let you two have some time,” Sam says, but Cas smiles at him, and Sam pauses.  
  
“You may stay if you wish. In a roundabout way you are also concerned.”  
  
Dean visibly pales as a new set of concerns creep into his mind, from threesomes to blood sacrifices.  
  
Sam sits again, and Castiel turns to Dean. “I apologise for leaving the way I did, but it was integral that I take on my celestial form. And as I suspected this morning, I am with child.”  
  
The room is deathly silent for a few very long moments before the two brothers speak in unison.  
  
“What?” Dean chokes.  
  
“Awesome!” Sam breathes.  
  
Castiel, despite Sam's praise, turns to address Dean's question, even if it is rhetorical.  
  
“I am with child,” he repeats and then, with a bright smile, adds, “I'm making us a fledgling.”  
  
Dean stares at Castiel for a long time, and the angel stares back with a soft, serene smile. Sam waits for one or the other to speak, but clearly they're not going to.  
  
“So, um- how?” he asks, unable to hold back the first of many questions. “How did you make it?”  
  
Dean breaks his gaze away from Cas to look at his brother. “You're really asking that?”  
  
“Actually, Sam, a fledgling is generally conceived by the combination of two angel's graces. But in this case, it is a combination of my grace and Dean's soul.”  
  
Dean's head snaps back to the angel. “You stole some of my soul?” he asks accusingly, and Castiel, rightly, looks affronted.  
  
“You gave it to me,” he says. “when we were-”  
  
“Okay!” Dean holds up his hands. “Right. Fuck.”  
  
Cas looks completely forlorn. “You aren't happy, Dean? Would you prefer I attempted to return to Heaven until the child arrives? It would probably be for the best.”  
  
“No!” Dean and Sam chorus together.  
  
“You can't just-” Dean looks exasperated, “take our child and run away.”  
  
A small smile flickers in the corner of Castiel's lips. “It may be easier, though. Protecting the egg down here on earth will be difficult.”  
  
“I don't care,” Dean snaps before pausing. “Wait, what? Egg?”  
  
Cas nods. Sam sits enraptured.  
  
“It is more of a secure shell than an egg, but our child will be encased in one until it's ready to be born. The egg should be ready in six months. After the egg is laid, there is a two-month incubation period, and then…our baby is born.” He smiles and pats his stomach in a surprisingly human way.  
  
“Six months?” Dean blanches, staring at Cas, his eyes slowly dropping down to the other man's abdomen. “Christ, Cas. We're at war. The end of the world,” he says. “We can't have a baby.”  
  
“I said I would return to Heaven to bear it,” Castiel says again, his face falling.  
  
“No, Cas,” Sam steps in. “Dean's just worried. He wants you to have it here. So do I. So will Bobby.”  
  
Cas nods, but his eyes are locked on Dean.  
  
“You're not fighting,” the elder Winchester says finally. “Any trouble at all, you get away, do you understand? You don't hang back to save me or Sam; you don't do anything stupid.”  
  
Cas frowns. “Dean.”  
  
“Cas, this isn't a debate. I won't risk losing you, and I won't risk losing my kid. So do as I say.”  
  
“Fine,” Cas concedes, though he doesn't look too happy about it.  
  
“And you stay here. No going on jaunts across the earth, especially not if your grace is weak. I need to know where you are.”  
  
Cas nods his head again, a realisation seeming to dawn upon him that Dean is actually terrified and from the bottom of his heart wants Cas safe.  
  
Dean isn't ready to be a dad. He never thought he was going to be; there's always a world to take care of. Always something in the way of his dreams of a normal life. But Cas is offering him that one thing he has always wanted, and offering it in the most unconventional way possible. Somehow that makes it more reassuring.  
  
He stands, moving around the table towards Cas, reaching out a hand to rest against his belly, wondrous at the knowledge that there is a new little person in there.  
  
“You're making us a baby,” he says, looking into Cas' eyes. The angel nods, and Dean wants to cry.  
  
\--------  
  
By the time Bobby arrives home, Dean has reached the point of nervous excitement and just has to say something.  
  
“Bobby, Cas is pregnant.”  
  
Bobby is barely in the front door when Dean greets him with this news. He looks at the excitable man before him and concludes that this is good if not sudden and if not a little surprising.  
  
“Congratulations,” he says with some hesitance, because there are an awful lot of questions he'd like to ask once everything starts processing properly. “Uh- when are we expecting the uh…?”  
  
“Baby?” Dean offers, because he can't get his head around the thought that it's half angel too. 'Fledgling' conjures up some strange imagery, and he is not entirely settled on there being an egg involved. “Eight months. Well, six months before the egg comes, and then another two before the baby is born.”   
  
Bobby nods his head quietly. “Well, congratulations,” he says, pulling Dean into a hug. Neither of them has to say that they're wondering if they'll still be alive in eight months. Good news is just too rare.  
  
\--------  
  
Sam is still grilling Castiel when Bobby ventures into the lounge a while later. Both Dean and Sam have insisted that Cas remain seated, and while the angel is getting restless, he doesn't want to worry his boyfriend (it's an assumption neither of them have clarified, but it doesn't seem to need it now) or his best friend. So he sits and allows fussing and assumes they will calm down in a few days.  
  
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Bobby says, squeezing Cas' shoulder gently. “If there's anything you need that these two will mess up, you let me know.”  
  
Bobby makes a swift exit to the salvage yard, leaving Dean and Cas in each other’s company for the most part. Dean sits with an arm around Cas' shoulders, holding perhaps a little too tightly, but Cas looks serene. Happy.   
  
“Dean, the egg is going to be really awesome!” Sam calls over to his brother, his excitement uncontainable. Watching the pregnancy and birthing process of an angel is a unique experience, after all.  
  
Dean doesn't reply. His gaze is focused fondly on his angel, and he’s and trying not to look too far into the future.  
  
\----------  
  
“You should try and avoid dairy. And fish. And red meat,” Sam says on the run up to dinner time, having spent more of the day looking at what to expect when you're expecting.  
  
Dean turns his head towards his brother from his position on the sofa where he and Cas have remained in each other's personal space, looking at him around his laptop. “That's a whole lot of stuff we have to be careful of,” he says, worry knitting a line across his brow. “Are you sure it's necessary?”  
  
“I dunno,” Sam shrugs. “We've never had a baby.”  
  
Dean feels Cas leaning against him more, his head resting gently upon his shoulder. “You feel okay?”  
  
Cas nods.  
  
“You need anything?”  
  
Cas shakes his head, turning his eyes to look up at Dean. “I'm fine. Don't panic. I'll let you know if I require assistance with anything.”  
  
“Maybe we should just stick with chicken and salad for dinner. Maybe some lean meat.” Sam continues, scrolling down a web page. Dean sighs.  
  
Dinner is actually a whole lot less complicated than the panic suggests. Bobby insists they stick with a traditional meat and two veg because no one can complain about that and, of course, no one does. Cas is unused to eating and picks at the food, sampling the flavours of things that aren't burgers and fries, and Dean watches him like a hawk, holding back from foisting more and more food onto him.  
  
Cas goes to bed not long after. It's strange to see him wander up the stairs, knowing he's going to be sleeping like a human. Knowing they'll have to keep the noise down. Knowing Dean will be climbing into bed beside a warm body.  
  
\--------  
  
The three men are alone, and Dean knows all of their attention is on him and his pending fatherhood.  
  
“Well, you boys sure know how to pick your moments, don't you?” Bobby says, pouring them each a finger of whisky. “Not only have we got a kid on the way, but we're going to be one man down.”  
  
Dean sighs heavily. “I won't let him fight. He's not going to. Especially not while he's carrying our baby.”  
  
Bobby shrugs his shoulders. “I'm sure he's stronger than you're letting him be.”  
  
“I don't care,” Dean replies. “I'm not risking anything happening to either of them.”  
  
Bobby doesn't say anything else, the whole situation a little too strange for him. And he's known strange things. But Dean telling him that he and Cas have made a baby- it's beyond anything he's read about or thought about. Not because he didn't know that Dean was in love with Cas. Nor because he was freaked out by them having sex. That he could deal with. He's been preparing for that for a long time. But there is going to be a baby in the house, and Bobby is pretty sure he's too old for that.  
  
“Well, Grandpa Bobby's hitting the hay. It's been a busy day. I'll leave you two kids to discuss tactics.” He walks behind Dean on the way out, placing his hand on his shoulder. “Congratulations, son. I really am pleased.”  
  
Dean nods his head in gratitude, offering Bobby a little smile as the man quietly grumbles his way up the stairs.  
  
Sam lets out a deep sigh, raising his glass of whisky to Dean. “Here's to new beginnings,” he says, “To our futures.”  
  
Dean raises his bottle as well. “To our futures.”  
  
When he goes to bed that night, Dean spends a long time looking at Castiel. The angel is curled up on his side, his hand stretched over the space Dean will occupy. He looks peaceful. Dean has never seen him like this. Maybe everything will be okay.  
  
\--------  
  
Two days later, Cas begins to experience morning sickness. It's apparently not commonplace amongst angels because he panics immediately, even as he's bent over the toilet bowl with Dean rubbing circles on his back.  
  
“It's normal for humans,” Dean whispers. “Human women are sick when they're pregnant. It's one of the symptoms.”  
  
“I don't care,” Cas growls, though being pale and a slight green colour doesn't make him as threatening as he would like, Dean is certain. “Make it stop.”  
  
Dean looks apologetic and stays beside him whilst Cas heaves into the toilet.  
  
\--------  
  
“How's Cas?” Sam asks when Dean finally appears downstairs, having put Cas back to bed.  
  
“Angry,” Dean replies. “This pregnancy could get complicated.”  
  
Sam smiles sympathetically.  
  
“Uh, is there any news on, y'know, the devil?” Dean asks, taking a seat and picking up a mug, pouring out some coffee from the jug on the table. He doesn't really want to know; he wants to deal with one thing at a time, but that isn't going to be possible.  
  
Sam shrugs. “We got a few leads on some weird stuff happening in Illinois, Seattle, and Ohio, but we can't be sure what it is. Bobby's put out a few calls, and I was thinking of driving out to one of them.”  
  
Dean frowns. “You're going on a hunt for the thing that wants to wear you?”  
  
“There's no reason you and Cas can't come, Dean. We'll be back here in no time. Or I can go alone if that suits you guys.”  
  
“None of this suits me, Sam.”  
  
“Compromise, Dean.”  
  
“All I do is compromise,” Dean bites back, his voice rising slightly. “All the time, every damn day, but not with them. Nothing is more important than them.”  
  
“Not even ganking the devil? The apocalypse?” Sam asks gently.  
  
Dean narrows his eyes, standing up. “Nothing,” he whispers, walking out of the room and back up the stairs to his sleeping angel.  
  
\--------  
  
He brings Cas downstairs later to eat, finding Sam on his laptop in the study and Bobby leafing through a pile of papers on his desk.  
  
“Hey, Cas,” Sam says. “How're you feeling?”  
  
“Your human pregnancies are ridiculous,” Cas mumbles, crawling onto the sofa. “I have never felt so awful.”  
  
“It'll pass once your body gets used to the baby.”  
  
Cas grumbles some more and reaches out a hand to Dean, who obediently goes to his side, wrapping an arm around Cas' shoulder and letting the angel curl up against him.  
  
It's the most overt display of affection Bobby and Sam have seen from the couple. From Dean. Over the years, his expressions of love have dwindled to nothing much. For months before this, Sam hadn't seen him look a woman in the eye. Perhaps because it was always Cas. Perhaps because there was no longer room in his life for indulgence like that- until Cas. He was always the bottom line. And honestly, Sam can't see a future that doesn't involve Dean and Cas and their kids in a little house, living the good life. He can't fathom another possibility. And he's seen the slow evolution in Dean's mind, now that he has more to live for. Determination reignited.  
  
\--------  
  
Cas is living as a human, practically, and not by choice. He seems utterly perplexed by the way the hair on his face grows and concerned by the way his body gets grimy and his hair flattens.  
  
Dean didn't think the day would come when he'd have to teach a grown man to shower, but the grown man is carrying his baby, so the weirdness cancels itself out.  
  
He shows Cas how the shower works, explains the importance of hot water, and then runs through the inventory of shampoo and shower gels before he tells Cas to take his clothes off.  
  
“This isn't a military procedure, Dean,” Cas huffs, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. “You could ask nicely.”  
  
“I'm sorry,” Dean whispers, shuffling closer and leaning in to press a little kiss to Cas' lips. “I'm sorry, Cas. Let me.”  
  
Gently, Dean begins to unbutton Cas' shirt. It's the shirt he's worn forever, and Dean is going to get him some new things. Starting right after this shower. No more suit and tie. Well, the tie is gone, but the shirt and the pants need to be replaced. His fingers work their way down before finally exposing Cas’ still flat stomach. Dean's eyes linger there for a few seconds, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips before he slides the shirt from Cas' shoulders and discards it. He pulls his own shirt off with a lot less ceremony and can't believe they're only just now deciding to shower together. It seems like it should have been the most obvious thing to do.  
  
Dean's hands drop down to Cas' pants. This their last hurrah before going out to be used as rags. Something more comfy and baggy will be necessary in a few months. He unbuttons and unzips them, easing them down with Cas' underwear.  
  
“We'll need to get you some new clothes,” Dean says, helping the angel step out of his pants.  
  
Cas stands naked before him, and Dean takes a few moments to look him up and down. The only times he's seen Cas naked have been when they're rolling around in bed, and he hasn't been able to look at him properly. It seems reckless and unappreciative, but he doesn't think about things like that when Cas is pressing against him. Now he does. Now he gets to look, and Cas doesn't seem to bear the scrutiny well. He shifts in place, unsure of what to do with his hands.  
   
"You're really hot, Cas," Dean says after a few moments of staring, because he doesn't want Cas to think there's something wrong. God, he doesn't want Cas to think he's anything but in love with him.  
   
Cas smiles, perhaps a little too hesitantly, and Dean removes the rest of his own clothes, standing just as naked, and turns on the shower.  
   
Cas looks happier when he's under the water, grinning as his hair is plastered to his head. Dean thinks he's glorious. He takes his time rubbing soap into Cas' shoulders and chest before finally placing both slippery hands over Cas' stomach.  
   
"It's in here, right? Our baby?"  
  
Cas looks at him, confused. "Of course. Where else would I keep it?"  
   
Dean laughs. "Oh, I don't know. This is all so strange."  
   
Cas grins, sliding his arms around Dean, even as Dean's hands cup his still flat belly. He pulls him in for a kiss, and Dean smiles into it. He's going to help Cas shower a lot more in future.  
  
Dean’s hands slide down, and if Cas protests, he can always blame it on his soapy hands. Cas shifts his body to fit against Dean's, letting his fingers wander up to Dean's hair, holding him into the kiss as though he thinks the other man will move away. Dean is thinking of doing anything but.  
  
He backs Cas up against the wall, against the cold tiles that haven't quite been warmed through by the shower. Cas shivers, a tremor running through his whole body, culminating in a throb of his cock, which is pressed against Dean's. They don't speak, too engrossed in their kisses, but Dean's hands move down between Cas' legs, and Cas parts them, pushing his hips forward to allow Dean access. Dean's fingers are slick from the soap, and Cas has no objections to him using them to stretch him. It's not necessary, as Dean learned the first time, and he does it out of courtesy mostly, but also because it really turns him on.  
  
Cas is practically purring into Dean’s mouth, and the sound goes straight to Dean's cock. He pushes two of his fingers up into Cas, feeling Cas’ muscles clench around them, which only serves to excite Dean more.  
  
After a minute or so, he slides his fingers out of Cas' body, and with one fluid motion, he grabs hold of Cas' thighs, pushes forward and up, and lifts Cas off the floor. Cas is surprisingly light but Dean doesn't suppose grace weighs a whole lot. Cas is slim, with some lean muscle, but Dean is practically all muscle and very strong, so supporting his angel’s weight is not difficult. Cas immediately wraps his legs around Dean's hips, and their lips part with a soft sound. They stare at each other, like the first time, unable to fully process or express their longing.  
  
Cas' hand slides down between their bodies, his fingers wrapping around Dean's hard cock, positioning him right where he wants him, and he presses the head of Dean's erection against his entrance, guiding Dean up into his body. Cas' cheeks flush as Dean fills him in one smooth movement, pressing Cas hard against the tiles as he thrusts in. His fingers grip hard enough to bruise Cas' thighs, but he has no doubt that Cas can take it. He grips Dean's upper arms tightly, one hand fitting almost directly over the scar he had left there what feels like decades ago.  
  
On the next forward thrust, their lips meet again, and Cas' slides his other hand into Dean's hair, fingers twisting and pulling. Dean had entertained thoughts of a slow, gentle love making session, but he needs Cas more than that will allow. There isn't even a slow build up. Dean wants and takes, and Cas grips and rides him with equal desperation. There's nothing gentle about it; Dean wants Cas to know how much he desires him, and there is no way Cas can be left doubting as Dean pushes forward and pushes up and pulls moans of pleasure from Cas' lips, even as they are muffled by his own.  
  
He feels Cas' thighs tighten around him, pulling Dean as close as possible, and Dean's thrusts are shallow and rough and hit every good spot inside his angel. Dean feels the vibrations of Cas' moans against his lips, and his hand releases its grip on Dean's arm and snakes back down between their bodies. Dean knows what Cas is doing before he even looks down. He’s never seen Cas jerk himself off and, as a red blooded man, isn't going to miss the opportunity to see it now. The kisses don't stop, though, even with Dean's eyes cracked open, watching Cas' fist pump up and down his own cock, almost in time with Dean's thrusts. Dean's thrusts become erratic and out of time as his control begins to slip away.  
  
Their kiss breaks, and he looks up into Cas' eyes, the pupils huge and obscuring all but the thinnest line of the blue of his irises. Dean still isn't used to seeing Cas like this, on the edge, sexual and wanton. That's exactly what Cas is, and he knows what he does to Dean. In return, Dean's hands move to hold Cas' ass, getting a good grip so that he can take him and finish them both off.  
  
Cas' head rolls back and hits the tiles, his lips swollen from the kissing, his throat bared and flushed from the heat and the sex. Dean runs his tongue up the shower-sweetened skin, and Cas hums, his hand jerking his cock roughly. Dean can tell from the way Cas' muscles shiver around him that he's close, and that's all he needs to know.  
  
Cas comes first, suddenly. Dean feels the heat of his lover’s release over his chest momentarily before the water washes it away, and Cas tenses and then softens. Dean enjoys this part the most. When Cas is pliant and soft and Dean can move him into new positions. But he doesn't. Not this time. He pushes deeper into Cas, the purring angel still wrapped around him, and it's only another few moments before he comes as well, shuddering against Cas' body.  
  
They still, breathing heavily. Dean has the strength to keep Cas up, even though his legs are like jelly, but he lowers him slowly. He hates the absence of all that warmth around him, and has very little self-control around Castiel, but their nights are for staying inside each other- now they're in the shower, and the water is running colder.   
  
Cas is grinning dopily at him, another look Dean’s gradually getting used to. They kiss again before Cas pulls back, a little smirk replacing the softer smile.  
  
“So this is why you like to shower every day, is it?” he asks, walking his fingers over Dean's collarbone.  
  
“Of course not. We've never showered together before,” Dean grins.  
  
Cas laughs, a little rumble of pleasure. “Smart ass.”  
  
Dean, ever the gentleman with his pregnant lover, steps out of the shower first. He wraps Cas in a towel, and the two of them scuttle off to the bedroom where Dean digs out some clean clothes for Cas. "You can keep these. Change every day to stop from getting stinky. When you grow out of them, we'll get you some bigger ones."  
   
Cas takes the old AC/DC shirt and pulls it on. It's soft from its years of being washed and worn, and once again, he looks very happy. Dean gives him a pair of boxers and some jeans that are a little too big for him, but Cas actually looks really good in something other than a suit. Really good. Once again, Dean finds himself staring.  
   
"Is everything okay?" Cas asks, having checked himself in the mirror and come to the conclusion that while this look is new and different, it's certainly not bad, and he can get used to it.  
   
Dean nods his head.  
  
\--------  
  
Cas' transition into an almost human doesn't stop at his sudden need to bathe and sleep. He begins to eat, at first just one meal a day, and then working up to three. He doesn't stuff himself, though, and he doesn't binge on food. He is actually very sensible with his choices which Dean blames on Sam, and Sam claims it’s good for the baby, so it shouldn't matter anyway.  
  
But Dean enjoys it. He enjoys watching Castiel eat, and he enjoys the four of them sitting around the table in the mornings and evenings. He enjoys going to bed at night and listening to the gentle breathing of his boyfriend sleeping beside him. It's strange at first, to find Cas in his bed every morning and every night. He doesn't remember anyone before Cas occupying this spot for so long. He doesn't complain though. Not at all. Dean loves it, though he doesn't say it out loud. Not that he even expects it, but after that first morning Cas wakes up with him and then announces his pregnancy, it just seems to happen. Cas doesn't leave. They go up to bed together at night, and Cas carefully takes off his clothes and climbs in beside Dean. Dean curls in towards his warmth. They kiss. They have sex. Because they can and because they want to and because Cas has accepted his place beside Dean without question, and Dean has made that space for him with no further thought.  
  
The concerns about the devil and the end of the world don't go away. Sam does go out on a hunt on his own, and Dean panics. But he can look at Cas and escape off into a slightly more normal world and do the things most expectant fathers do, like slowly whittling away a crib for his child in Bobby's shed, and painting sigils in nice pastel colours around the bedroom he and Cas share, and reading baby books.  
  
Once the worse of the morning sickness (which, Cas finds, is a very misleading name since he spends nearly a week vomiting at all times of the day) has passed, he begins to enjoy himself too. He is particularly fond of sleeping.  
  
Then comes the day Dean has secretly been waiting for since Cas announced he was expecting. He wakes one morning and rolls onto his side, his eyes wandering down Cas' body and stopping to observe the slight swelling in his mate's abdomen. The first real sign of their baby.  
  
He places a hand gingerly on the bump, and it feels so warm. He doesn't know if all babies feel this way or if it's because theirs is special, but it doesn't matter. He knows their baby is in there. And he likes to check every ten minutes or so, creeping up to Cas and pressing his hands to his stomach.  
  
Sam looks both amazed and slightly freaked out at the dawning reality of the situation. Bobby says very little, but flushes when Dean calls him Grandpa.  
  
Cas begins to develop preferences for things. He tries every bit of food that is put in front of him, which varies depending on who is offering. He is very fond of cheese, but Sam is adamant that he only has it in small doses. He gets grumpy when he's hungry and tired, and Dean finds this endearing because it's so human, the way he sulks and snaps if one of them dares to say it's quite cute. He doesn't complain about losing his angel mojo or succumbing to human weaknesses like the need to sleep. Cas seems content and, in turn, Dean, Sam, and Bobby feel content.  
  
They're two and a half months along, and Cas still fits into his clothes, although he's taken to wearing Dean's t-shirts because his shirt starts to get old and covered in dinner and life.  
  
Dean thinks he looks hot, though.  
  
\--------  
  
“You should probably start talking to your baby,” Sam says to the two of them one day when Cas is curled against Dean, translating something for Bobby, and Dean is scrolling through a website on the horsemen. Sam is clearly not doing any productive work relating to the apocalypse, and Dean doesn't know whether he should mention that or freak out about talking to the baby.  
  
Cas does it for him, though.  
  
“Speak to it?” he asks, looking down at his stomach. “What about? Our baby already knows everything that's going on.”  
  
Sam and Dean both look at him with raised eyebrows. “What?”  
  
“Well, the baby knows everything that's going on. It can hear us. And feel everything.”  
  
Dean pales slightly, looking down at Cas. “Even when we're...” he casts a glance over to Sam that is more telling than the words would have been. “Y'know?”  
  
Cas frowns. “It's no big deal, Dean. The baby just knows we're happy; it doesn’t know what positions we're-"  
  
“Cas!” Dean cuts him off quickly, closing the laptop sharply. “Uh, well...what should we talk about?”  
  
“Just talk. It helps the baby get to know your voice and identify you when it's born,” Sam says, trying his best to ignore everything that had just been said. “Start the bonding early. Studies have shown that babies who were spoken to in the womb turned out more intelligent and with more social capabilities than babies who weren't.”  
  
“Sam, if you start another sentence with 'studies have shown' from now until the baby is here, you're on permanent diaper duty,” Dean grumbles, sliding off of the sofa to kneel in front of Cas, who shifts into another position now that he can't lean against his partner.  
  
There is silence whilst Dean stares at Cas' belly. Cas watches curiously, but Sam has gotten back to tapping at his laptop and clearly has no interest in watching Dean play out any prenatal fatherly duties when he has to swot up to be super uncle. Dean clears his throat, placing his hand gently against Cas' naval. It's definitely warmer here than on other parts of Cas' body.  
  
“Hey,” he says softly, feeling a flush creep up into his cheeks when he thinks of the fact that he's addressing his child for the first time. “Um, I'm Dean. I'm...I'm your daddy. Well, Cas here, he's your daddy too, but...it's real complicated. Things in our lives are. But you shouldn't ever worry because you've got a whole lot of people out here who are going to make everything perfect for you.” He presses a tiny kiss to Cas' skin, even though he thinks their baby isn't going to feel it. “Your uncle Sammy told me I should start talking to you now, and I guess maybe you might not understand all the stuff I'm saying, but you can blame him. He uses big words all the time that I don't understand, so I know how you feel, kiddo.”   
  
He hears Cas snort softly and looks up to see a smile on the angel's face. His eyes are closed though, as though he's giving Dean as much privacy possible in this situation.  
  
Dean talks to his baby in the evenings before bed and starts to kiss both Cas and the bump good morning when he wakes up. It's strange to think the man beside him is making something inside him that will inevitably turn into another person. Cas is making a person. It blows Dean's mind.  
  
\--------  
  
“You're taking this really well,” Sam comments one day when the two of them are trudging around Bobby's local Wal-Mart, picking out clothes and finding food for Cas. Inevitably, at three months, he can't fit into his pants, and Dean's jeans are starting to get uncomfortable, and Sam's just wouldn't fit him anyway. Cas isn't short, but Sam is unnaturally tall, and his clothes wouldn't fit anyone else. So Dean and Sam have to guess, comparatively, what they can use as maternity clothes for Dean's boyfriend.  
  
“What do you mean?” Dean asks, having been contemplating new underwear for Cas because he doesn't want his angel going commando.  
  
“Well, you've hardly been one for commitment, Dean,” Sam says. “This is- I mean, this is the biggest commitment you can make to someone, and you've just taken it in your stride. I thought...I kind of thought you'd be freaking out a bit more, y'know? A few months for the reality to sink in, then...” he mimics his head exploding, complete with sound effects.  
  
Dean rolls his eyes.  
  
“But you haven't. You're not even freaking out now, picking out pants so your best friend has room to grow your child in his stomach.”  
  
“In his womb, Sam,” Dean corrects. “You should know he's not growing a baby in his stomach.”  
  
Sam stops, leaning on the cart as he looks at Dean. “Do you hear yourself?”  
  
“Giving you anatomy lessons? Yeah, weird, right? You're usually the smart one.”  
  
“Dean,” Sam rolls his eyes this time. “I'm just proud of you, you know? You're not freaking out.”  
  
“Sam,” Dean turns, several pairs of jogging bottoms piled in his arms, “we've faced a whole lot of freaky shit in our lives. I mean a whole lot. And sure, this isn't normal; it's up there on the scale of weird, but it's a good thing. It's finally a good thing. We have something awesome happening, and I'm not going to waste a single second getting into a mess over it. I'm going to enjoy it.”  
  
“That's very mature,” Sam smiles with all sincerity, resuming pushing the cart. “And y'know, you and Cas...I see you looking at him.”  
  
“Well, I love him,” Dean shrugs, looking up at Sam again as though daring him to challenge that statement. “I love him. He's having my kid. He's fucking awesome, Sammy. You've been around him recently; he's funny, and he's smart, and he's...he's just...”  
  
Sam reaches out a hand and places it on Dean's shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. “You love him. You could make a great chick flick out of your life now.”  
  
“Shut up, Sam.”  
  
Dean’s been reading baby books too. He sits in bed at night, after Cas has fallen asleep, and reads. He knows that if Cas were a girl, (and not laying an egg in about three months’ time) they'd have scans and doctors’ appointments and Lamaze classes, but he has to trust Cas on this. That everything in there is okay. He wishes he could see it, wishes he could pull out ultra sound scans to show people, but these things aren't possible. They're just a tiny compromise. Next time he'll be prepared, and he'll buy them their own scanning machine. Or he'll 'borrow' one. Yeah, next time.  
  
\--------  
  
“That smells amazing!” Cas says, creeping up behind Dean as he attempts to stuff a chicken for dinner. He presses up against him, and Dean can feel the swell of his bump against the small of his back. He grins.  
  
“You're going to have to wait another few hours to get this, Cas,” he says, turning his head and kissing the side of Cas' nose. “You want cake or something? Or a sandwich?”  
  
Cas shakes his head, and Dean feels him sigh.  
  
“What's wrong?”  
  
“Nothing,” Cas replies. “I'm just full of baby.”  
  
Dean chuckles. “You're not even that big yet, Cas. It can't be any bigger than a banana at the moment.”  
  
“A banana in an egg,” Cas grumbles. “I feel huge.”  
  
Dean side steps to the sink to wash his hands so that he can turn and wrap his arms around Cas without covering him in chicken bits.  
  
“Are you having some body issues, Cas?” Dean turns, his hands navigating down to cup Cas' belly. It really is quite small. He can cup it easily in just his palms.  
  
“I'm scared,” Cas whispers, much to Dean's surprise. His eyebrows shoot up, and for a moment Dean doesn't know what to say.  
  
“Scared?” Dean asks. “What of? I'm here. Sam's here, Bobby's here. We're all going to help look after you. And baby.”  
  
“I'm scared of, y'know, getting it out of me,” Cas' cheeks flush, and he looks away from Dean. “I don't know how- I mean, I trust that my body can deal with it, but angels usually just...the eggs just materialise. I don't think that'll happen this time. I...I'm scared.”  
  
Dean frowns. He has thought about this, obviously, because it's not really far away, but he’s been more distracted by the notion of having to look after an egg for two months than the actual process of how Cas is going to...lay their egg, as it were. Dean puts his arm around Cas, pulling him in close, but he really doesn't know what to say. What do you say to that kind of thing? He's had to deal with a lot of stuff in his time, but this is a bizarre situation to be in, one in which he is equally scared and excited. He presses a wet kiss to Cas' temple and feels his angel smile. “We'll work it out, Cas. Whatever happens, I'll be right here with you, all the way through.”  
  
Cas knows this already, but admittedly knows he can't ask any more of Dean than he already is or already has. Dean has taken all of this in his stride, by some miracle, and Cas doesn't want to push him. He just wants this to be over already. Or at least have their egg here. He wants something palpable for Dean to touch and care for. This is a strange part of human parenthood, where the father can only assume his child is well. As the 'mother' in this situation, Cas feels a little selfish, hogging all the baby time already. He wants Dean to be as much a part of this as he is. But Dean isn't complaining about that either. He isn't complaining that Cas gets to be permanently attached to their child, and he has to wait. It's another odd thing about human parents.  
  
\--------  
  
The mornings and the evenings are Dean's favourite because that's when Cas is getting changed, and that's when he gets to see him at his most beautiful. It may sound cliché, but Cas in just his boxers, stretching at the side of their bed, is a glorious sight to behold. And every day Dean gets to see the growing shape of their baby. It doesn't get any less miraculous. It doesn't get any less wonderful. Dean doesn't freak out at any point, even when he looks Cas up and down and has no choice but to accept that this is a man who he is in love with, and this is a man who is making a life inside him.  
  
Sometimes Cas catches Dean looking, and he smiles. He's been smiling so much more lately - real smiles that he'd been unable to form or express before. And when Dean pulls him closer and presses his lips to Cas' stomach, and then tugs him down to kiss him good morning, Cas can't help but feel as though he's dreaming.  
  
Cas actually began dreaming about two weeks into his pregnancy, both as a result of his weakening grace and the half-human baby growing inside him. It was disorientating for him at first. He's been into Dean's dreams, but that is a far cry from experiencing things beyond his power in his own head.   
  
Dean notices. He notices the way the dreams appear to get steadily more vivid because Cas shifts and mumbles in his sleep. Presses against Dean. Murmurs his name. Dean doesn't mention this because he's secretly elated to know that Cas feels for him the way he does. Dean has told Sam that he's in love with Cas, but Cas has never said the words out loud to anyone besides Dean, as far as he knows. Dean could be forgiven for thinking Cas takes this in his stride the way he does many other things, that this isn't as important or life changing to an immortal as it is to a mere human. But when Cas talks in his sleep, Dean knows that he's the one on his mind.  
  
It's one of those nights. Cas is shifting around, mumbling, his eyelids flickering. Dean is watching him with a serene little smile on his face, wondering why it took so long for him to realise how much he loves Cas. Or how beautiful he is.  
  
Perhaps the end of the world was kind of distracting, but still, Dean has to spend all of his time now watching Cas to make up for the months he wasted not eye-fucking him.  
  
Cas' head is turned towards him, his lips parted, his breathing steady. He looks particularly lovely tonight, and Dean leans in, wrapping his arm around Cas, his hand sliding over his lover's swollen belly.  
  
Something happens then that Dean wasn’t expecting. He sucks in a sharp breath when he feels the jolt, the tingle that runs from his fingers up his arm, filling him with something warm. His eyes widen, but he doesn't move his hand away because he knows somehow that he can feel their baby. The tingling is rhythmic, and Dean can see it like little stars bursting behind his eyelids. He presses his palms flat against Cas' belly, wanting to feel more of this…whatever it is.  
  
It’s their baby. Communicating with him. He feels a happiness that he knows isn't just him; it's what their baby is feeling.  
  
And she is really happy.  
  
 _She?_   
  
Dean sucks in a sharp breath. He then knows, without a doubt, that the feelings rushing through him come from their little girl. Tears spring up into his eyes, and he leans in to kiss Cas' belly. To kiss his daughter.   
  
“Hey, little girl. I can feel you,” he whispers, rubbing gentle circles over the small bump.   
  
He feels Cas stir and hears him humming softly, the snuffling sounds that tell him Cas is on his way to waking. Which is fine and Dean can't even feel guilty for waking him up because he wants to share this with his boyfriend.   
  
_Boyfriend. Geez._  
  
“Cas?” Dean whispers, not even waiting for Cas to wake up on his own. “Cas? Wake up!”  
  
“Mmm.”  
  
“She's a girl, Cas.”  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
“You're making a little girl!”  
  
He sees Cas' eyes open slightly, groggily. He watches as Cas tries to process everything - Dean kneeling up, cupping his belly, talking about a little girl. Cas can feel their baby inside him constantly, like a permanent collection of bubbles in his belly. But Dean is right; there is something a little different. The bubbles are different.  
  
“She's a girl.” he repeats Dean's statement, propping himself up on his elbows.  
  
Cas is gorgeous. Dean can hardly believe that this is his life now. That he's in love with this ridiculously beautiful man with hair sprouting out in all directions and sleepy eyes. That he's an angel and is making their angel baby. It blows Dean’s mind.  
  
He was always such a lady's man, but now…  
  
“Can you feel her?” he asks, beaming when Cas nods. “Can you feel that it's a girl?” Cas nods again, a smile creeping over his lips. “We're having a daughter, Cas.”  
  
“She's happy,” Cas says, confirming what Dean had thought before, resting his hand over Dean's. “I'm glad you can feel her, too. I worried you wouldn't be able to.”  
  
Dean can't help but laugh a little. The things that pass for normal in their lives.  
  
He presses another kiss to Cas' belly and then shuffles back up the bed to lay beside him, draping an arm over his chest.  
  
“She's going to have us all wrapped around her fingers,” Cas says quietly, resting his cheek against Dean's head. He feels the little huff of Dean laughing, feels his lover's hand navigate down to rest against his belly. He feels the jolt of happiness from their baby. Because of Dean. Cas knows the feeling.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean isn't ready to be a dad. He never thought he was going to be; there's always a world to take care of. Always something in the way of his dreams of a normal life. But Cas is offering him that one thing he has always wanted, and offering it in the most unconventional way possible. Somehow that makes it more reassuring.

“Castiel.”  
  
Cas is alone in Bobby's study, reading through one of the old books Bobby had been translating for days now and making a heck of a lot more progress. One hand notes down the translation as he goes, and the other rests on his bump. At three and a half months, Dean can barely fit it in the palms of his hands. Not that he's measuring every day (he is), but both of them know they're counting down the days until the egg arrives. They're half way there.  
  
But Castiel hears his name in a familiar, though long-estranged, voice, and he lifts his head to look at the uninvited guest.  
  
“Anna,” he greets coolly. “This is a surprise.”  
  
“Castiel,” she says his name again, her eyes narrowed as she looks him up and down. “What are you doing?”  
  
“I'm translating some scripts. They're quite old. Hopefully it'll help us stave off the apocalypse,” he eyes her up and down, noting the way she looks at him, gauging whether or not it's okay for him to say that. Not that he cares what side she's on. “I don't suppose you're here to help?”  
  
Anna frowns, crossing her arms over her chest. “You know that isn't what I'm talking about, Castiel.”  
  
He puts down his pen with the anticipation that he might have to use both hands for something. For defending himself and his daughter.  
  
“Well, I don't suppose it would kill you to elaborate?” he snaps because she's making no move to reveal her intentions, and he really doesn't have the time for this. He stands, pulling the cardigan he borrowed from Sam tightly around him as though the thin, knitted layer would add some protection to his belly.  
  
“This…” she gestures towards him, but he knows she means the baby. “What are you doing? You can't give birth to a half-human. It's...it's against everything we were taught. It's against our Father's interests.”  
  
“What?” Castiel asks, raising his eyebrows. “You don't know that.”  
  
“The nephilim, Castiel,” Anna says softly, as though she's breaking some terrible news to her brother. “You remember them, don't you?” Her tone is patronizing, and Castiel's skin prickles.  
  
“It's not the same. It's not the same,” he says, because he knows it's not. The Nephilim were a horrible mistake; they were never the product of love, but the product of lust and sin. “Dean and I-”  
  
“You took advantage of the bond our Father provided.”  
  
“Bullshit,” Cas spits. “We love each other. She is a product of that.”  
  
Anna shakes her head, as though she's humouring him. As though she's just been playing along with his whims. “Cas, you're too attached already.”  
  
“She's my daughter.” His hands rest over his belly, another barrier between his child and Anna. “You will not convince me otherwise.”  
  
“I'm here to advise you, Castiel,” Anna whispers, a darkness beginning to burn in her eyes. “Do not go ahead with this. Do not have this child.” She takes a step forward, and Castiel, in turn, steps back. “I can help you.”  
  
“You can go to Hell,” Cas growls.  
  
“How do you suppose you're going to give birth?” Anna asks, and Cas is sure she's been watching them, that this isn't just a spontaneous visit. She thinks she knows how to play him.  
  
“Something will work out.”  
  
“If you're relying on our Father, you may want to reconsider.” Anna looks prematurely pleased with herself. “I don't think He'll turn up just so you can push your bastard half breed out,” she says venomously. “if He won't turn up to help us with the war.”  
  
Cas bristles again. “How dare you-”  
  
“How dare I?” Anna laughs, but it's a cruel laugh. “I'm doing this for you, Cas.”  
  
“Don't. Don't call me Cas, and don't offer me your help. I will do this.”  
  
“You're walking down a dangerous road, Castiel. Dean Winchester only knows how to destroy and kill. And whatever you're growing in there is going to go on his list.”  
  
“Get out,” Cas growls through clenched teeth. “Get out. I don't want to see you again. Ever.”  
  
“I'll see you soon. You'll call for me.”  
  
“Get out!” Cas grabs a book from the table and hurls it at his sister, but she has already gone.  
  
\--------  
  
Dean is drumming his fingers on the table as he listens to his brother read the article on his laptop. There have been a few incidents in short succession, all in the same town, and all pointing towards something bad.  
  
“We're going to have to investigate this, Dean,” Sam says hesitantly, as though approaching a highly strung animal. “It could be something to do with the apocalypse. If we send any other hunter out there, they're not going to have a clue; they don't know half the stuff that we do. If it's something big…”  
  
Dean sighs, rolling his shoulders and then rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I don't know, Sam.”  
  
“Dean,” Sam lowers his voice, even though they're the only two there, “I know you don't want to risk it, but believe me, we've walked out of worse than this completely unscathed.”  
  
“Yeah, but luck is never, ever on our side. This time one of us could die from a rusty nail or something,” Dean sighs, refusing to meet Sam's eyes, “because we have so much more to lose than we did before.”  
  
Sam looks up to the ceiling as though physically pulling his thoughts together. “I'll go on my own, then.”  
  
“No. No, Sam. I can't let you do that,” Dean says. He's torn because this is his brother, and he can't let his brother go off on his own to fight something end-of-the-worldy, but at the same time, he doesn't want to risk anything that might mean Cas is a single parent. It's a terrible decision to have to make. And Cas? Well, Cas has been acting strange the last two weeks. Not necessarily around Dean but when he thinks Dean isn't looking.  
  
“Cas still has two months to go, and I don't want to leave him here,” Dean says. “He'll have to come with us.”  
  
“Dean,” Sam protests immediately. It's not his child, but he'll be damned before he lets anything happen to Cas or his niece. “No. He'll be okay here.”  
  
“I just don't think-” Dean starts, but stops when Cas appears in the doorway. And Dean can't hide anything from Cas.  
  
“What's wrong?” he asks, his eyes travelling from Dean to Sam to the laptop and then back to Dean. “Is it Lucifer?”  
  
“Maybe,” Dean replies, picking at a growing hole in his jeans.  
  
“Where?” Cas asks, as though Dean had been more affirmative.  
  
“Seattle,” Sam says when Dean doesn't venture an answer. “It's only a few states over.”  
  
“I know,” Cas nods. “You don't want me to come with you?” He's looking at Dean as he speaks, clearly directing the question to him.  
  
“Of course I do,” Dean says with so much conviction that Cas has no choice but to believe him. “Cas, the last thing I want to do is go anywhere without you. I want to have you where I can see you all the time.” The two of them share a tiny smile.  
“But it's dangerous.”  
  
“I'm not going to do anything stupid, Dean,” Cas rolls his eyes, moving across the room towards Dean, unable to stop his  
tiny smile from growing as Dean's hands automatically lift towards his belly. “I'm going with you.”  
  
Dean shakes his head, but he knows he isn't going to be able to provide a sufficient argument to make Cas stay here. Dean doesn’t want him to, but he really doesn't want to take him either. Of course there was going to be some kind of catch in their awesome life. “I don't...”  
  
“Dean, come on,” Cas says, running his fingers through Dean's hair, an intimate gesture Cas usually reserves for when they're alone. In front of Sam, Dean feels a little swell of pride. Cas is the best.  
  
“Okay. But I'm not happy about it. I hope you know that,” Dean says. Their daughter seems perfectly happy, regardless of everything that's going on around them. He can feel her quiet contentment.  
  
Surprisingly, Bobby puts up quite a fight about Dean taking Cas out on a case with him.  
  
“You think it's wise? You're going to be looking over your shoulder constantly, boy. Your mind is going to be in two different places.”  
  
Dean understands, and it's a good argument; he'll be worried about Cas even if they leave him in the motel room. And Cas has been acting so strangely recently. Dean’s swayed for a minute or two, thinking about leaving Cas in Bobby's more than capable hands, but Cas objects immediately, and the look on his face makes Dean regret even reconsidering.  
  
“Don't you want me there?” he asks, frowning with more anger in his expression than hurt. “Don't you want me to come with you?”  
  
“Of course I do,” Dean replies immediately. “I'm just thinking about you. Where you'll both be safe.”  
  
“If you don't want me to come with you, I'll stay here,” Cas says, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing.  
  
“Cas, I want you to come along,” Dean says. “I do! Dammit, go and sit in the car now.”  
  
“Don't shout at me,” Cas grumbles, shuffling out to the car where Sam is packing up their bags.  
  
Cas opts to sit in the back seat even though Sam has offered up the front passenger seat numerous times. He sits behind Dean, staring out of the window and not speaking. This puts Dean in a foul mood for the duration of the long drive, especially since he can't see Cas properly.  
  
“What's wrong with you?” he asks after what feels like hours of stiff silence. “Cas? Hey. What did I do?”  
  
“Dean,” Sam attempts to interject, because he doesn't want to be part of this, and he can't sneak out of a car that's going seventy miles an hour on a freeway. “Not now.”  
  
“No, no. Now. We're all pissed that we have to do this, Cas, but you had the choice to stay behind, and you wanted to come.”  
  
Cas looks up and meet's Dean's eyes in the rearview mirror.  
  
“I thought you didn't want me out of your sight. I thought you were worried.”  
  
“Yeah, well, I can't see you right now, and I'm doing just fine.”  
  
“Dean!” Sam gasps. This isn't going to end well.  
  
“Pull over,” Cas snaps. “I'm getting out. I'm going home.”  
  
“How?” Dean barks. “Hitchhiking? I don't think so. Not in your condition.”  
  
“I'm making a baby, Dean. I'm not dying. I'm not incapable.”  
  
“You don't know what kind of people there are around here. Good people don't pick up hitchhikers. Murderers and rapists pick up hitchhikers.”  
  
“Dean,” Sam sighs.  
  
“Pull over!” Cas demands again.  
  
“I'm in the middle of the freaking freeway, Cas. I can't just pull over. Jesus Christ.”  
  
Ten minutes later, Sam manages to skulk off to 'get supplies' from the service station they pull in to, leaving his brother and the pregnant angel to fight it out in the parking lot.  
  
“What the hell has gotten into you recently?” Dean demands, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “You're acting like such a...I don't even know. If it's hormones you'd tell me, right? You know I'd be cool with that, and I'd take care of you.”  
  
Cas snorts derisively. “I don't need you to take care of me.”  
  
“What the hell, Cas, come on,” Dean all but pleads. “What did I do wrong?”  
  
Cas just glares.  
  
“Cas.” Dean takes a deep breath, moving on from rubbing his nose to rubbing his whole face. “Please. Please, Cas. I just want to make you happy. I just want to take care of you and our little girl, but I'm just a guy. I'm just a man, Cas. I don't know all the right things to say and do unless you tell me. And if I make you sad, you have to tell me so.”  
  
Cas frowns at him.  
  
“Cas,” Dean reaches out his hands, and Cas assumes he'll be reaching for his belly, the way he always does. But he doesn't. Dean takes Cas' hands in his own, cups them tenderly and holds them close to his chest as he gazes imploringly into Cas' eyes. “Please. Tell me so I can make it better.”  
  
Cas looks away. He can't lie, but at the same time Anna's words have been playing on his mind over and over again, painfully wearing him down. He's naïve to assume he can get through this without any consequence. Angels and men had bred before, and the result wasn't unanimously approved of. But this is Dean. The man he pulled from Hell. Anna had to be wrong.  
  
“Dean,” he starts, dragging his eyes back up to look into Dean's beautiful, pained face. “Anna came to see me.”  
  
“Anna?” Dean asks. As much as he loves Cas, and as much as he is growing to accept that their baby will probably have to be half celestial, it doesn't mean he's on board with Cas' family. The rest of them are still jerks. “What did she want?”  
  
“She came to warn me. She came to tell me that our child was an abomination and something you will want to hunt and kill.” Cas' voice shakes with emotion he hasn't yet had a place to vent. It's building up rapidly inside him now.  
  
Dean looks blank as though there are too many feelings to process at once. “What?”  
  
“She told me- she said we shouldn't go ahead with it.”  
  
“What did you say?” Dean asks, his heart racing though he feels as though the blood is draining from him.  
  
“I threw a book at her and told her I never wanted to see her again,” Cas whispers, his eyes brimming over with unshed tears. His lip wobbles and Dean, despite the situation, can't help but marvel at how wonderful this man is.  
  
He pulls Cas into his arms, and much to Cas' bemusement, he thinks he can feel Dean laughing. He doesn't think there's anything funny about this.  
  
“Dean?”  
  
“Cas. I'm so totally in love with you,” Dean replies, squeezing Cas as tightly as he dares before he pulls back. “You're brilliant. You threw a book at her?”  
  
“Do you understand the severity of her warning, Dean?” Cas asks, unimpressed with Dean's reaction.  
  
“Of course I do, Cas. I know what she was getting at, but I don't give a crap what she said because God gave us a baby. And as much as I hate the dude for what he's done to you and yours and for this stupid game of hide 'n' seek during the damn apocalypse, he's brought you back to me before, and Cas, I'm no doctor, but you're a boy. And you're pregnant. That isn't a thing that nature just messes up sometimes,” Dean beams.  
  
Cas tips his head, processing Dean's words slowly and thoroughly.  
  
“God wants us to do this, Cas,” Dean continues gently, knowing his words are getting through. “Anna doesn't know. She doesn't know what we have. She knows jack shit about us. And I would never, ever do anything to hurt you or our baby. I love you more and more every day I wake up beside you. And our kid is awesome. She's going to be awesome. And I will never, ever let anything happen to either of you, do you understand that?”  
  
Cas lets a little smile creep over his lips for the first time in such a long while. “I love you, Dean.”  
  
“I know you do,” Dean Smiles, “just...don't think this is coincidence. You had my heart when you gripped my arm and pulled me from Hell. Or whatever it was you said when we met.”  
  
“Gripped you tight and raised you from perdition.”  
  
“That's the one,” Dean grins. “I promise, Cas. Please, never doubt that. I'm never letting you go. You or her, no matter what.”  
  
Sam gives the two of them a good half an hour as he browses the things in the convenience store, and when he returns, he finds them curled in the back seat of the Impala getting a little too friendly for his liking.  
  
“Uh, guys, I'm glad you've made up and everything, and I don't mind driving, but if I have to hear you both making out, I'm going to Seattle on my own.”  
  
“Hey Sam, did you bring snacks?”  
  
“Did you hear me, Dean? No funny business.”  
  
“Cas is hungry. And I'm having sympathy cravings.”  
  
Sam tosses a bag at the two of them and climbs into the driver’s seat, setting off back on the road to Seattle.  
  
\--------  
  
The job turns out to be a lot easier than any of them anticipated. And, as an unexpected bonus, the creature screams and begs for forgiveness just before they gank it, spilling a whole juicy handful of secrets about the devil. Sam notes them down to be investigated as Dean cuts the things head off and burns the body. Easy. All the while, Cas hovers around in the background, rummaging through the gross things the creature has collected to try and find anything of use. Dean has allowed him that much, if only because he wants to know where Cas is at all times.  
  
The three of them are somewhat elated to be returning back to Sioux Falls, which has to be a first. But Sam is confident that they've gotten something good from the post-death blabbing, and Dean is relieved that they're all going home alive. Cas is laying on the backseat with a book balanced on his belly, and the journey home is nowhere near as tense as the outward one had been.  
  
None of them want to mention it, but Bobby seems to be relieved to see them. He hugs them all gruffly and tells them he's ordered in for dinner. Which is his way of saying he loves them, idgits or not.  
  
\--------  
  
“Have any of you seen my grey shirt?” Bobby asks one morning, looking incredibly put out. He's addressing Dean and Sam, since Cas, at five months pregnant, is spending more and more time hiding away in their bedroom.  
  
“I dunno, Bobby. I'm missing two of mine, though. Did they all go in the same wash?” Sam asks, looking up from his laptop which is, as always, whirring away on some case notes.  
  
“I don't know. I don't get a chance to do any washing with you two treating me like an invalid,” Bobby grumbles, looking at Dean, who has taken to doing most of the washing recently, using some crazy eco-friendly sensitive washing powder.  
  
Dean looks up from the baby book he's reading, shaking his head. “I don't know. I remember putting them out to dry and bringing them back in again. Maybe they're just...y'know...maybe they just got misplaced?”  
  
“Where?” Bobby asks.  
  
“I'll ask Cas,” Dean says gently. “He keeps cleaning things up; he's probably just accidentally put it somewhere else.”  
  
Truthfully, Cas has been doing a lot of cleaning recently, much to Dean's displeasure. More than once he's walked into the kitchen to find Cas half in the oven, cleaning it out, or pulling out the fridge and cleaning that out. Or mopping the floor. Or cleaning the bathroom.  
  
There are things about it in Dean's baby book, and it's apparently normal for the pregnant parent to start nesting, cleaning things habitually, becoming picky and a little bit obsessive compulsive over things in the house. And Cas is doing all of those things.  
  
After listening to Bobby complain for another quarter of an hour, as though he has no other shirts, Dean heads upstairs to his room to question his irritable, pregnant boyfriend. Even though Cas has said he wanted to be alone.  
  
“Cas?” Dean knocks and hears the grunt of a reply from within the room. The room that, when he had vacated this morning after getting dressed, had been completely immaculate, to the point that Dean thinks Cas will start changing their bedclothes every day if he gets the chance. Still, he's received the little grunt of response, and he pushes the door open.  
He peers in and sees Cas curled up in the bed, all of the duvet over him. Dean makes a mental note to go and pick up one of the spare covers later so that Cas doesn't have to share.  
  
“Hey, Cas,” he starts forwards, making his way around to Cas' side of the bed. The scruff of Cas' dark hair pokes out from the duvet, and Dean can see his eyes peering out at him. “Sorry to bother you. I was just wondering if you'd seen some of Sam and Bobby's shirts when you were cleaning up.”  
  
Cas looks up at him, crinkling his nose.  
  
“I don't-” Dean starts, but then Cas looks slightly shifty. “Cas?”  
  
“I'll give them back,” Cas mutters. “Soon.”  
  
“What?” Dean asks, keeping his voice soft and blameless. “Do you know where they are?” He sees the shift that tells him Cas does. “Come on, Cas?”  
  
“I just want to keep them. Just for a little while.”  
  
Dean sits himself on the edge of the bed and pulls the covers back from Cas' face. He sees a scrap of blue plaid that resembles Sam's shirt poking out beside Cas' ear.  
  
“Are you sleeping on them?” Dean asks, twisting a few strands of Cas' hair around his finger. “Did you ste- borrow them to sleep on?”  
  
Cas pauses and then shrugs. “I wanted something to remind me of all of you. Something our egg can lay in that'll remind her of her uncle and grandpa.”  
  
Dean grins, running his fingers gently through Cas' hair. “You know Sam and Bobby would have just handed them over. They think the underwear gnomes have been into their wardrobes.”  
  
“Underwear gnomes?” Cas frowns. “I don't think there is any such thing.”  
  
Dean chuckles and leans in to press a kiss to Cas' forehead. “I was joking. They did think there was something odd going on, though. But if you're using them for comfort…”  
  
“Nesting,” Cas smiles softly. “I'm...I'm nesting.”  
  
“And you're making an awesome job of it. You're right; she's going to love it.”  
  
“You're being so nice,” Cas smiles, rolling on to his back and pushing the covers away from his body. His belly is huge now. Dean's hands still migrate to it automatically, running over the shape of their child and feeling the tingles of her presence inside Cas.  
  
“Well, why wouldn't I be?” Dean asks. The t-shirt Cas is wearing now is a little too tight. It doesn't cover all of his bump, but Dean really doesn't care.  
  
“I'm fat. I'm fat and full of baby, and I'm neurotic, and I keep stealing your family's clothes.”  
  
Dean grins. Bobby’s and Sam's shirts are underneath Cas, crinkled from where Dean can only assume Cas has been clinging to them.  
  
“First, they're our family. Secondly, you're not fat; you're making a baby, so hush,” Dean replies. Cas frowns at him, but Dean is rubbing his belly, and Cas can't feel too bad when he's being loved so much. “She'll be here soon enough. And when we don't sleep or have time for sex, you'll wish you were full of baby again.”  
  
Cas hums in response. “At least when she's in here, I’ll know she's safe. I’ll know what she needs and how to look after her.”  
  
“Well, I guess we'll have to learn to speak baby.”  
  
“Babies only gurgle,” Cas says, “but she should still be able to tell us what she wants. The way she does now.”  
  
Dean nods his head, secretly thrilled at being able to one-up other parents and know what his kid might want when she's crying, rather than playing the elimination game. “I can't wait to meet her.”  
  
“Soon,” Cas sighs. “Soon. I'm still...I'm still scared, Dean. I don't know how...” He breaks off. He doesn't need to tell Dean how he feels. He brings it up every so often. Dean knows. Dean is scared too, though he pushes it to the back of his mind because worrying about it will just take over his life. He doesn't want to lose Cas. He doesn't want to lose Cas more than he doesn't want to lose their baby, and though he hasn't said it, if it came down to it, he would save Cas every time.  
  
\--------  
  
Dean knows something is wrong when he comes in from the scrap yard into the eerily quiet house.  
  
Sam is helping Bobby with the accounts, and Dean had only gone outside for a few minutes to take them both a drink and check up on the state of one of the old cars he'd thought of turning over earlier that morning. When he'd gone out ten minutes prior, the house had been warm from the sunlight coming in through the windows, warming the old wood. It had been quiet but for the ticking of the several clocks Bobby keeps around his house. Cas had waddled downstairs earlier for something to eat, bored of being cooped up in his nest, though he'd headed back up the stairs not long after, wanting a shower.  
  
Now the house feels oddly cold. The silence is too thick; the clocks seem to clunk instead of tick. Something has happened.  
  
On instinct Dean sprints up the stairs three at a time.  
  
“Cas? Cas? CAS?” he bursts into their bedroom, completely out of breath. Which doesn't matter because as soon as he opens the door, his lungs deflate, and his heart stops.  
  
Cas is curled up on the floor in the fetal position, clutching his belly. And bleeding. There is blood all over the covers and the carpet. And Cas isn't moving. He's pale and still.  
  
Dean drops to his knees beside him, gripping his arm tightly. “Cas? Cas, come on, wake up. Come on.”  
  
Cas' eyes open. They're dull, barely focusing. “Dean.”  
  
“Tell me what to do, Cas. What do you need?”  
  
“She's coming, Dean. It hurts so much.” He shudders, biting down on his lip.  
  
Dean flips open his phone, calling Sam and Bobby in the yard and demanding they get up here now, and to bring something, anything, to help Cas.  
  
“It's okay, Cas. We're all here. Just...just breathe, okay? Like Sam showed us on that video, you remember?” Dean mimics the breathing and panting they'd watched on a Lamaze demonstration, and Cas bravely attempts to copy.  
  
“We need to get you out of these pants. And you should sit up. Or squat. Or get on all fours.” He's read the books on birthing, so he’s pretty sure one of them must work. “Okay? I'll help you with your pants. Then we'll get you into a better position.”  
  
“I think I'm dying, Dean,” Cas whispers.  
  
“You're not dying, Cas. Shut up. Breathe.”  
  
Cas sobs softly but does as he's told while Dean removes the bloodied pants and underwear, throwing them aside and looking down between Cas' legs. He doesn't know how this is going to work. He isn't sure where all of the blood is coming from, either, but they'll get through it.  
  
Sam and Bobby appear in the doorway, and Bobby blanches immediately. “I'll...towels. And ice. I'll get ice,” he stammers, backing away and disappearing again, leaving Sam, Dean, Cas and, imminently, their baby.  
  
“She's coming,” Dean whispers. “Sam, she's coming.”  
  
Dean doesn't understand where Sam learns the things he knows. The man is a mobile how-to guide. He joins Dean, kneeling at Cas' side, checking Cas' pulse and smiling with a firm reassurance.  
  
“You're gonna be okay, Cas. Don't worry about a thing. This'll be the hardest part. And you have us all here.”  
  
Cas nods his head, willing to believe anything Sam tells him. His hands grasp Dean's, and his attention remains on his partner. In turn, Dean doesn't take his eyes from Cas. Without saying a thing, he and Sam have determined their roles, Dean looks after Cas, and Sam looks after their egg.  
  
Out of the corner of his eyes, Dean can see Sam carefully touching Cas as though he's been delivering angel babies his whole life. Cas' breathing hitches, and he hears Sam make a humming noise.  
  
“I can see the top of the egg,” he says, just as Bobby returns with the towels and ice.  
  
“I'll...go and find some more things,” he says weakly and leaves again. Dean can't see what Sam can see, but he saw the look on Bobby's face.  
  
Then Cas is gripping his hand tighter, and Dean can hear his teeth grinding together as he tries not to make a sound. Dean can't even imagine the pain. “Cas. Cas it's okay. It's okay.”  
  
The look he receives is one that would have withered him if Cas still had his powers.  
  
“Next time it won't be so bad,” Sam says in a way that is supposed to be reassuring.  
  
“Next time?” Cas manages to exclaim. “There will not be a next time. This is it. This is it, Dean. You so much as look at me amorously and I will smite you.”  
  
“Okay, Cas,” Dean agrees, stroking Cas' matted hair back from his face as another contraction builds up.  
  
Sam passes the ice for Cas to chew on and arranges the towels to provide some padding should the egg get bored of its slow journey into the world.  
  
Cas bites down on the ice and cries out in pain.  
  
“Breathe, Cas.”  
  
“ _You_ breathe,” Cas snaps, though he tries to adjust his breathing to the pace they had seen on the film. Slow and even and then short pants through the contractions.  
  
Dean doesn't take his eyes from Cas' face, his beautiful face streaked with sweat and tears. Dean leans down to kiss him, and Cas whimpers softly.  
  
He can hardly believe this is happening. That Cas is going through all of this, all of this pain to bring their baby into the world, something they've made out of love that Cas has carried. Because he loves Dean.  
  
“I love you,” Dean whispers, and Cas forces a smile.  
  
“Good,” he whispers, and Dean can see the pain written all over his expression.  
  
“I can touch her, Cas, you're doing great,” Sam says, his composure still perfectly maintained. “Two more big pushes and we'll have her.”  
  
Dean wants to reply that it’s easy for him to say, he's not delivering a watermelon – but for Cas' sake he doesn't.  
  
Cas is pushing, and Dean finds himself stunned that it is all pretty much how it was on the films they've seen, complete with his hand being squeezed in Cas' in a vice-like grip. He'll need the ice for the bruising after.  
  
“One more, Cas, come on,” Sam instructs calmly, but Cas shakes his head.  
  
“Too tired,” he whimpers. “Please. Stop-”  
  
“No can do, Cas,” Sam replies, placing his hand against the small of Cas' back and rubbing in what he hopes is a soothing fashion.  
  
“Change position,” Dean says suddenly, because Cas being curled up on the floor isn't helping.  
  
Again, Cas shakes his head, too tired and in too much pain to do anything for himself.  
  
Dean rolls him gently over onto his hands and knees and then lifts him just as gently into a kneeling position so that gravity is working with them. Cas sobs and clutches at Dean, twisting his fingers in Dean's shirt, burying his face against Dean’s neck as he lets out another agonised groan.  
  
“Push, Cas,” Dean hears Sam say, but he can't see his brother over his armful of angel.  
  
Cas' grip on Dean increases, but he does as he's instructed, and Dean can feel and hear the strain in his lover's body.  
  
And then Cas goes limp. Dean nearly drops him, not expecting so sudden a change, but he keeps Cas up until Sam's big, grinning face comes into view, followed by a bundle of towels.  
  
“You did it, Cas,” Dean whispers, allowing Cas' tired body to sink down to the floor until he's resting with his head in Dean's lap, his eyes closed, though his ragged breathing says he's still awake.  
  
Sam shuffles around with his armful, pulling back the towels to reveal the shell of the most beautiful egg Dean has ever seen.  
  
In his mind, he had imagined a standard egg, maybe a little bit glowy because Cas had said they were born in the stars. But his daughter is glorious. The shell has a pearly sheen to it and is almost pink in colour, melting into a peachy-yellow and a very soft green when it hits the light. She's also fortunately smaller than he had imagined, more squash sized than watermelon, but he's not denying that it’s still a big thing to push out of your body.  
  
“Cas?” Dean touches Cas' hair gently. “Look, she's here.”  
  
Cas' eyes crack open, and he peers at the egg, nodding with some satisfaction. “Keep her warm,” he murmurs before his eyes close properly, and he's nothing but a dead weight in Dean's lap.  
  
Now that the egg is here, Bobby is on hand to help, and he sets about changing the sheets and covers on the bed, whilst Dean gently cleans Cas up and finds the softest, loosest clothes he can to dress him in before lifting him up onto the bed and tucking him in.  
  
Sam has collected up the several shirts Cas borrowed from himself and Bobby, and he wraps the newest family member up in them, leaving the top of the egg uncovered, convinced she needs room to breathe and hear. When Dean sees her, he's sure his brother is moments away from using a Sharpie pen to draw in a face, and he takes his daughter from Sam's arms, feeling her weight and warmth. She feels a little distressed, but Dean can only imagine it's been a stressful time for her too.  
  
He settles on the bed beside Cas, drawing his knees up so that he can rest the egg on his legs.  
  
He doesn't notice Sam or Bobby leave. He doesn't notice time slipping by as he gazes at the miracle he can now hold in his arms.  
  
It isn't until Cas shifts beside him, turning over with a groan and cuddling closer to Dean's side, that he realizes it's dark out. He moves one hand around to Cas, resting his fingers in his hair and lovingly massaging his head. The other supports their egg, which shines softly as the lights outside catch her shell.  
  
Dean smiles, observing his odd little family, and for once he feels like the luckiest guy in the world.


End file.
